History of Cattaraugus County, New York, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 83

Author: Franklin Ellis and Eugene Arns Nash
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The school statistics of the town for 1878 are kindly furnished by Hon. Neil Gilmour, superintendent of public instruction, the school commissioners of this county having failed to comply with the requirements of the law, which directs them to file a copy of their report with the county clerk.

The number of school districts is 9; containing 9 school buildings, valued with their sites at $3665; volumes in library, 72, valued at $35; number of teachers employed for 28 weeks or more, 9; amount of money paid for teachers' wages, $1338.50; number of weeks taught, 252; number of children of school age, 304; average daily at- tendance, 122,499 : 100% ; amount of public money received from State, 8878.94; amount of money received from tax, $426.72.

POST OFFICES OF EAST OTTO.

The first postmaster was Moses T. Beach, who received his appointment from John Q. Adams, and held it for eight years; Hezekiah Scovill next received appointment under President Jackson, and was succeeded by Dr. Elijah Dres- ser, Stephen Laing, Walter Burchard, and George W. An- drews, the present incumbent.

The town is noted for its good order and morality, espe- cially for its temperance, no license ever having been granted within its borders.

AGRICULTURE.

This town is similar in its agricultural interests and ad- vantages to Otto, from which it was taken. The princi-

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pal crops are hay, oats, corn, potatoes, and apples. The attention of its farmers, however, is mainly directed to grazing and the production of butter and cheese; the latter being manufactured mostly in factories, of which there are as follows : Huffstater and Sackett have 4; East Otto having in connection 600 cows ; another, two miles east of East Otto, having 800; 2, three miles north of Otto, 1 having 400 cows, the other 250; the Fox factory, four miles east of East Otto, using the milk of about 250 cows. There were manufactured in town the past year about 12,000 cheeses, averaging 660,000 pounds, of which Huff- stater and Sackett manufactured 600,000 pounds.

The agricultural statistics of the town for 1855 and 1875 are given below for comparison, and are taken from the censuses of those years.

1855.

Acres of improved lands.

10,753

Acres of unimproved lands.

11,619

Acres of meadow-lands .. 3,552

Tons of hay raised.

2,556

Acres of oats sowed

687

Bushels of oats raised

17,535

Acres of corn sowed

531

Bushels of corn raised

16,724

Acres of potatoes planted

119

Bushels of potatoes raised

8,453

Bushels of apples raised. 7,657

Pounds of maple-sugar made. 19,391

Pounds of honey collected

3,279

Cows.

1,510

Pounds of butter made.

86,099

Pounds of cheese made

26,500

Sheep ..

1,381

Pounds of wool clipped.

2,930

1875.

Acres of improved lands ..

17,363

Acres of unimproved lands.

7,625

Acres of meadow-lands ..

4,729

Tons of hay raised

6,327

Acres of corn sowed 337

Bushels of corn raised.

13,889

Acres of oats sowed

1,237

Bushels of onts raised.

39,431

Acres of potatoes planted.

136

Bushels of potatoes raised

16,965

Apple-trees .

15,414

Bushels of apples gathered

27,627

Pounds of maple-sugar made. Cows

2,733

Pounds of butter made in families

85,666

Pounds of cheese made in families

5,920

The apple crop of East Otto for 1877 realized about. $30,000.

The population of East Otto in 1855 was 1228; in 1865, 1152; and in 1875 was 1183.

EAST OTTO CORNERS

is situated south and west from the centre of the town, and contains two churches, two dry-goods stores, hardware- store, post-office, school-house, harness-shop, two shoe-shops, two blacksmith-shops, one carriage-shop, and one physician.

PLATO

is a small hamlet in the southeast corner of the town. A post-office was here in 1832, Enoch Marvin postmaster ; receipts for postage during that year were $3.88, and con- tinued several years. About 1836 this place was laid out into village lots and mapped, and large were the expecta- tions of its future, but, like many others, it was only on paper.

SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION.

Thomas Grant served through the war.

Eleazer Larabee died January, 1837, aged eighty-seven years. SOLDIERS OF THE WAR OF 1812.

Joseph Burchard participated in the capture of St. John's.

Henry Beach died in 1847, aged fifty-eight years.

Nathan Larkins served under Lieutenant (afterwards General ) Wool; died in 1869, aged sixty-seven years.

Phineas Orr, sergeant in regiment, Colonel Riddle com- manding. Present at the burning of Buffalo; died in 1860, aged eighty-four years.

Joseph Satterlee died December, 1863, in his seventy- fifth year.

Jeremiah Spaulding died in 1836, aged sixty-five years.

Elihu Ward enlisted in Berkshire Co., Mass .; died in 1851, aged seventy-seven years.

Elnathan Winchester, musician in a New York regi- ment. Participated in battle of Sackett's Harbor.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

HON. ELIJAH A. RICE.

Elijah A. Rice was born at Shaftsbury, Bennington Co., Vt., on the 20th day of September, 1795, and being left an orphan at a very early age, he was removed to Washing- ton Co., N. Y., where he lived with a relative till 1809,

Elijah. A. Rice

when, at the age of fourteen, he started in life alone, inde- pendent of fortune or the influence of any but humble friends. Perseverance, application, and unaided effort se- cured to him a good common and classical education, which proved to be his capital in life, and has left its traces upon

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his children. He was a volunteer in the war of 1812, and was engaged in the battle at Plattsburg. In 1818 he re- moved to Herkimer County, and engaged in the calling of a land-surveyor ; but in the following year he removed to Otsego County, and located at the town of Richfield, where, in his capacity of surveyor, he located and laid out the present village of Richfield Springs, then a swamp, but now a noted watering-place. At that date the course of emi- gration from that part of the State westward was to the Holland Purchase, and in 1823 Mr. Rice visited the then newly-organized county of Cattaraugus,-a visit which he repeated in 1824 and 1825, making the journey each time on foot, and with his rifle for an only traveling-companion. On the last of these visits he located a farm in the then almost unbroken wilderness, which has given place to the rich and productive farms of East Otto, and erected the mansion of that period,-a log house. In the spring of 1826 he removed his family to his new home, making the journey on the first westward-bound canal-boat on the Erie Canal. He resided in the county of Cattaraugus till 1854, when he removed to Wisconsin.

He was a man of good address, a good speaker, and a fine conversationalist, was well known and highly esteemed throughout the county, was active and influential in public matters, a good worker in the education of the young, and lived a sober, temperate, and blameless life.

In 1842, and again in 1846, Mr. Rice represented the county in the State Legislature, and for several years was commissioner of common schools for the county.

He was a farmer, but devoted himself largely to his pro- fession of a surveyor, being employed by the Holland Land Company and by its successors, the late Nicholas Devereux and his associates. His skill and accuracy were such that for many years he was considered the arbiter and ultimate authority in all cases of disputed boundaries and land con- troversies.

Mr. Rice is still living, a vigorous and active man, at the ripe age of eighty-three, - the fruit of a temperate life,-and resides at Owatonna, Minn.

His children, reared in Cattaraugus and educated by him, are all living, and, by their success in life, are wit- nesses of the good influence which his teaching and ex- ample have produced. Our sketch of the father would be incomplete without mentioning the children in this case.

Maria Rice Pindar was born at Richfield, Otsego Co., N. Y., Sept. 5, 1819, and is now living at Lima, N. Y.,- the widow of the late Rev. Wm. E. Pindar, of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church.

Addison G. Rice was born at Richfield, Otsego Co., N. Y., Dec. 29, 1821, and is a lawyer, now residing at Buffalo, N. Y. He has been a member of the Legislature of this State.

Milton L. Rice was born at Richfield, Otsego Co., N. Y., Aug. 16, 1824 ; is a lawyer, located in Kentucky; was a candidate for Congress on the Union ticket in 1866, and now resides at Little Rock, Ark.

Carlton E. Rice was born at Otto (now East Otto), Cat- taraugus Co., N. Y., Nov. 8, 1826; is a lawyer; was a member of the Wisconsin Legislature, and now resides at Owatonna, Minn.

Benjamin F. Rice was born at Otto (now East Otto), Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., May 26, 1829, and is a lawyer ; was a member of the Kentucky Legislature, a captain of volun- teers in the Union army, and has served one term in the United States Senate, from Arkansas, where he now resides. In the Senate he was a member of the judiciary committee.

JOHN PERKINS, ESQ.

This gentleman came of a long line of ancestors, of English origin, some of whom belonged to the gentry, while others were successful tradesmen and merchants, and many of whom left legacies of wealth and honor to their descendants. William Perkins, father of our subject, was a native of Connecticut. He emigrated to New York State in 1848, and died in East Otto in October, 1856, aged seventy-nine years.

John Perkins was born in the State of Vermont, the fifteenth day of July, 1810. At the age of seventeen (in 1827) he went to Washington Co., N. Y., where, for two years, he was engaged at farm labor upon the farms of John Williams and Chester Carver. Determined to " paddle his own canoe" in the life struggle, the next year he hired a farm, which he operated for two years. So successful was he in this venture, and in the manage- ment of the property, that he was enabled to purchase a farm in Vermont. He bought his father's homestead, em- bracing forty-five acres, and gave a portion of the same to his parents. Soon after (Feb. 14, 1830) he married Miss Maria, daughter of Cyril and Elizabeth Carpenter. Of this union were born six children, one son and five daugh- ters, none of whom survive. After his marriage he en- gaged in farming and stock-buying for a livelihood.

Mr. Perkins came with his family to Cattaraugus County in the year 1833, and settled in the town of Otto, where he purchased a farm, and engaged in agricul- tural pursuits. During the first four years of his residence here he also carried on a mercantile business, but since retiring from that he has been only interested in his farm and in the purchase of stock. When Mr. and Mrs. Per- kins came to Cattaraugus County it was emphatically a new and undeveloped region. They made the trip in a wagon-the pioneer fashion of traveling in that early day. When they arrived at Cattaraugus Creek they found a partly-finished bridge, but the lacking portions-from the abutments to the banks-prevented their availing them- selves of its use. In this extremity, Mr. Perkins drove the horse into the water out to the bridge, when he climbed over the horse's back on to the abutment: his wife then backed the horse out of the creek, while her husband put out three planks, until their ends rested upon the bank-a plank for each wheel, and one for the horse to walk upon. Over this extemporized bridge Mr. Perkins drove in safety, and reached his destination.

Passing through all the vicissitudes, and experiencing all the inconveniences of a new country, with which he has grown up (developing his own possessions as the home of his adoption has passed from its embryo state to that of a highly improved and wealthy community), he has become

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the owner of nine hundred and sixty acres of the best farming lands in the town.

Thirty-eight years ago he obtained the consent of the owners and agents of the Holland Land Company to re- ceive horses and cattle in payment for their land; and, as their collecting agent, Mr. Perkins received and sold eighty horses and two thousand cattle' in two years, thus putting new life into the farming interests of this section. About 1845 he was one of the three organizers of the Lake Shore Bank, at Dunkirk, N. Y .; but in 1847 he sold his interest in the same to T. B. Coleman.

During his youth, up to his seventeenth year, he en- joyed the advantages of the common schools, and this, coupled with judicious home-training, laid the foundations of his' after success in life. He has accumulated a hand- some property as the result of his years of labor, realiz- ing the words of the proverb, " the hand of the diligent maketh rich." But from his abundance he has given liberally to education and religious enterprises. He con- tributed one-third of the cost of erecting the first church in the town, costing fifteen hundred dollars; he aided in the building of the Baptist church ; he gave seventeen hun- dred dollars toward the building of the second Methodist Episcopal church ; he subsequently paid nine hundred dollars toward repairing the same edifice, and over eight hundred towards its parsonage. His gifts for benevolent. purposes have been large, and not confined to his own town. In 1876 he gave twelve hundred dollars to the University of Syracuse; and, taking a great interest in the matter of church extension, he contributed in real estate and cash over forty thousand dollars to the Loan Fund of the Methodist Episcopal Church,-creating a fund named, after its donor, the " Perkins Loan Fund."

Mr. Perkins is a Republican in politics, but no office- socker. In the year 1834, almost contemporary with his coming to this county, he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which organization he has been an official mem- ber and zealous worker. He has held most all of the offices of the church, and for thirty-five years has been a class- leader. Mrs. Perkins is also a member of the same denom- ination, having united with it in 1837. Mr. Perkins is an earnest advocate of the temperance reform ; he has fought the giant evil for forty-five years, and takes pride in the fact that his town has never had a licensed groggery within its limits. He is a man of estimable qualities, temperate in his habits, affable in his demeanor, honorable in his dealings, and deservedly enjoys the confidence and esteem of all.

LEVI BRADLEY, ESQ .*

This gentleman, one of the oldest living residents of Northern Cattaraugus, was born in the State of Vermont on the 18th day of July, in the year 1798. He lived in the " Green Mountain State," upon his father's farm, until the date of his marriage, in 1827, when he emigrated west-

ward, arriving in Cattaraugus County in August of that year. He purchased a farm in the town of Otto,-that portion of the town since set off as East Otto,-being the same upon which his widow now resides.

Mr. Bradley was first married, in Vermont, about the year 1820. His wife passed from earth March 2, 1853, and her remains repose in the cemetery at East Otto. He took for his second wife, Aug. 9, 1853, Miss Betsy, daughter of James and Margaret Morrow, of East Otto.

Brought up on a farm, Mr. Bradley followed in his father's footsteps, and likewise made farming his life vo- cation. He had a hearty love for it. He preferred its independent though laborious life to the more bustling trades and professions, or the uncertainties of mercantile enterprises. He was unostentatious and disliked notoriety, hence would never accept any office. He was for many years an honored and active member of the Baptist Church, of which denomination his wife is also a consistent and influential member.

By industry and economy Mr. Bradley accumulated a large property. His widow resides upon the homestead farm, the one purchased by him when he first settled in Cattaraugus County. During the latter portion of his life he retired from the active work of the farm, but still in a great measure superintended its management. He was a man of the strictest morality, and stood high in the esti- mation of the community. He lived uprightly, and "died as die the righteous."

Levi Bradley died Dec. 4, 1877, at the age of eighty years.

W. Z. LINCOLN

was born in the town of East Otto, in the year 1838, May 28. His father, L. L. Lincoln, came to this county in an early day, locating in what was then the town of Otto, but since set off and known as East Otto. He subsequently removed to the town of Hinsdale, this county, while his son, W. Z., occupies the old homestead.

Mr. W. Z. Lincoln has always lived upon the farm where he is now located, and having all his life followed the worthy and independent calling of a farmer, as did his father be- fore him, has a hearty love for it, and believes that learn- ing, genius, and intelligence need not be thrown away on a farm ; that intelligent labor will find a reward in any de- partment. Mr. Lincoln has never held any public office, but has followed the quiet life of a farmer, in which vocation he takes great pride, and may be ranked as one of the lead- ing agriculturists of East Otto.

Mr. Lincoln married Miss Louisa A., daughter of Alex- ander and Sarepta Scobey. Of this union were born one son and one daughter,-Lucius A. and Kate A. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln are members of the Baptist Church, and highly esteemed in the community where they reside.

* Deceased.

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WILLIAM Z. LINCOLN

MRS. WILLIAM Z LINCOLN

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RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM Z. LINCOLN , EAST OTTO, CATTARAUGUS CO., N. Y.

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SAMUEL C. EVERTS*

was born in Washington, Berkshire Co., Mass., July 5, 1805. His parents were natives of New England, and highly respected ; his father, Samuel Everts, having been at one time sheriff of a county in Vermont. Samuel C. re- mained at home, in Washington, Mass., and on a farm near Pittsfield, until he was ten years of age, when-owing to the large family dependent upon his parents, and wishing to relieve them of the expense of his education-he engaged his services to an uncle at four dollars per month, and attended school whenever opportunity offered. At the age of eighteen he obtained board with Judge Walker, of Lenox, paying his way by his own unaided efforts, and attending the Lenox Academy. He married Miss Ruth, daughter of Colonel Nathan Barrett, who was for years one of the selectmen of Lenox. Mr. Everts re- sided upon a farm in that town until 1834, when, with his family, he emi- grated to Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., settling on land purchased of the " Hol- land Land Company," and situated in the town of Otto. His energies were here devoted to cutting away the timber from his purchase,-then but a compact forest,-and in providing for his young family. The hardships and exposures, the journey to Buffalo with an ox- team, and many other trials incident to early settlements, are familiar to the pioneers of that day, and cannot be recounted in so brief a sketch as this must of necessity be; we cannot forbear saying, however, that he bore the toil, the trials, and hardships with patience and fortitude, seconded by his faithful companion, who, by her Christian example and resignation to the inconveniences of the wilderness, proved herself a worthy daughter of estimable parents, and an honor to him whom she had followed to the wilds of Western New York.

The original tract upon which he first located was subse- quently sold and the Wilcox farm purchased; on the latter Mr. Everts engaged in the dairy business, and spent his last years in Otto,-a kind, industrious, and respected citizen. During his residence in Cattaraugus County he

SAMUEL C. EVERTS.

organized the Presbyterian Church, and served as one of its deacons for seventeen successive years, and as its Sab- bath-school superintendent for twelve years. He also held the office of school commissioner for the period of twelve years. Of his connection with church interests, an Otto correspondent of the Franklinville Argus, speaking of the carly settlers, says,-

" Deacon Samuel C. Everts came into town at a later date, but yet while it was so new that the wolves prowled about his door. He was a man of influence, zealous in all good works, the life of his church and Sabbath-school, and when he went West the Presbyterian Church lost its head ; it flickered for a time in its socket and gradually went out." In the spring of 1851, through the influence of neighbors and friends who had pre- ceded him, Deacon Everts, accompanied by his fam- ily, moved to Kane Co., Ill., settling on the Sit- terly farm, in the township of Geneva, near its beau- tiful village of the same name. Here, at the age of seventy-three, he still resides. During his resi- dence of twenty-eight years in Geneva his life has been almost a coun- terpart of the years passed in Otto, and the same in- terest has also been man- ifested in religious matters and in the welfare of the church. Upon his ad- vent in Geneva the Con- gregational Church had no organization. He at once interested himself, with his Cattaraugus neighbors and a few others, in organizing a society of that faith, and by zealous and persevering efforts succeeded in erecting a church edifice. For twenty-four years he has been its deacon, and for thirteen years its Sabbath-school superin- tendent. As a result of his initial efforts and subsequent labors, the church at present ranks as the leading denom- ination of that village.

The companion of his early manhood, who shared his labors with a faith sublime, died at the age of fifty-one years. Her remains rest in the Geneva cemetery, along with those of Lucinda, a second wife, and two sons and two daughters,-Charles, Carlos, Cornelia, and Frances. This family had been spared affliction while in their native State, contending with obstacles which a pioneer life unavoidably presents; but when transplanted to the home of their adop-

· Prepared by J. P. Snell, of Philadelphia, January 23, 1879,- formerly chief clerk of Second Division, Sixteenth Army Corps.

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tion in the West, and subjected to the sudden changes of its climate, early graves claimed many of its loved ones, and this Christian parent received the chastening with unbroken faith. He was united in marriage to Lucinda Buck, April 14, 1857; she died in the year 1859, and in 1861 (June 4) he married Mrs. Lucretia Van Sickle, who still survives.

It may not be said of any man that he never had an enemy, but it may truthfully be stated of Deacon Everts that he knows no enemies, and that in his Western, as in his Eastern home, his life has been without blemish. In- dustrious, retiring, honest, and generous, beloved of the young and respected by all, no meed of praise is required. He can well afford to be known and judged by his works.

Seven children were reared by Deacon Everts, a brief record of whom may not be out of place, inasmuch as their father deserves a place in the history of his town, and that several of them were natives of the same. Charles N. was born at Lenox, Mass., Oct. 5, 1828, and died at Wyandot, Kan., Feb. 28, 1862, while in the service of his country. His lot was cast in Kansas during its most turbulent era, but with unflinching courage he maintained himself and family until his country called him. His remains were removed to Geneva and interred in the village cemetery. Carlos, born at Lenox, Mass., March 31, 1831, died at Geneva, Ill., June 28, 1853. Cornelia R., born at Lenox, May 14, 1833, died at Geneva, Sept. 12, 1853. Frances M., born at Otto, N. Y., June 11, 1841, died July 28, 1863. There are but three children living,-Louis H., born at Otto, April 14, 1836; James S., born in Otto, March 25, 1844; and Edward Arthur (by his second wife), born at Geneva, April 1, 1858.

Maj. L. H. Everts, the eldest of those living, entered the service at the beginning of the war, leaving a position of trust in the mercantile house of Potter Palmer (now Field, Leiter & Co.), Chicago. He assisted in raising a regiment in Kane Co., Ill., and accompanied it to the field as a lieutenant. He served in the campaigns of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, and Corinth; was detailed as aide-de-camp to Gen. Hackleman just before the battles of Iuka and Corinth, in the fall of 1862, in the latter of which engagements his general was killed, and the division lost more than one-third of its fighting force in killed and wounded. Soon after he was commissioned by the Pres- ident as adjutant-general of volunteers, with the rank of captain, and assigned to duty with Gen. T. W. Sweeny, as assistant adjutant-general of the 2d Division, 16th Army Corps .* He served through Sherman's campaigns, and finally, with the victorious army, rested at Washington. While in camp at the last-named place, the field-officers of his division united in the following testimonial and request to the War Department, presenting Capt. Everts with a copy of the same :

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History of Cattaraugus County, New York, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 83

Author: Franklin Ellis and Eugene Arns Nash Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: Franklin Ellis and Eugene Arns Nash
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: